Lianne Dalziel
Justice Spokesperson

10 December 2009 Media Statement

Dalziel pleased Power will meet Manukau bar

Labour’s Justice spokesperson Lianne Dalziel, who yesterday called on Justice Minister Simon Power to meet the Manukau criminal bar to get their perspective on issues in Dame Margaret Bazley’s Legal Aid Review report, says she is pleased the Minister is happy to do just that.

Lianne Dalziel says many of the report’s recommendations were excellent, and should be acted on, but there are flaws, with some of the recommendations being totally unworkable in one of the busiest courts in the country, and with the integrity and calibre of many of these lawyers having been called into question based on anecdote rather than evidence.

“Labour’s Associate Justice spokesperson Charles Chauvel and I met members of the Manukau bar yesterday and we heard a far different story to some of the issues of incompetence and corruption identified by Dame Margaret in her report.

“I promised the bar I would ask Simon Power to meet them to get their side of the story, and he confirmed in Parliament he would do so.

“That’s good news for everyone as the Government works on ways to implement Dame Margaret’s worthwhile recommendations. It will also provide an opportunity for the Minister to hear first-hand which of the recommendations are impractical and why.

“Lawyers told us yesterday that the Government needs to understand that what works in Manukau may not work elsewhere, and vice versa. The Government needs to assemble all the information it can so that it can make balanced decisions on the future of the legal aid system.”

ENDS

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